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Former Elf CEO released in Togo for medical care

The Associated Press

Posted:
02/27/2013 06:19:46 AM EST

LOME, Togo—A prosecutor says that Togolese authorities have ordered the provisionary release of the former chief executive officer of the French oil corporation Elf after six months of detention in the West African country.

Loik Le Floch-Prigent was arrested in Ivory Coast and extradited to Togo in September where he has been held since on charges of defrauding an Emirati businessman.

Prosecuting lawyer Essolissam Poyodi said Wednesday that Le Floch-Prigent was provisionally released for medical reasons and flew to France for treatment Tuesday. Poyodi said the Frenchman was still at the disposal of Togolese judiciary authorities.

The purported scam against Abass Al Youssef was for $48 million. Businessman Bertin Sow Agba and his cousin, former Togolese Interior Minister Pascal Bodjona, have also been implicated in the scam that has rocked Togo.